3D Blu-ray Review Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil 3D Blu-ray Review (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

The original Hoodwinked was a modest hit, so apparently the creators and studio felt a sequel was necessary. Six years later, Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil arrived in theaters in 3D, and has now made its way to home video in three flavors: 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD. Was this sequel warranted? If so, was it worth the wait? And did it deserve to be upgraded to 3D?

 

 

Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs. Evil

(Four-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy)


Studio: Anchor Bay
US DVD Release Date: August 16, 2011
Original Release Year: 2011
Rated: PG (for some mild rude humor, language, and action)
Running Time: 87 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Audio (3D Version): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English)
Subtitles (3D Version): None
Audio (2D Blu-ray): DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (English)

Subtitles (2D Blu-ray): English (SDH), Spanish

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie: 2.5 out of 5
Unfortunately, the answers to my questions above are all NO. Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil tries too hard to be pleasing to both adults and kids alike, jamming as many pop-culture references and jokes that fall flat as possible into what amounts to a very long 87 minute running time. Much of the voice talent from the first film, Hoodwinked, return in this outing, including David Ogden Stiers as Nicky Flippers (who apparently has been promoted from investigator to head of the Happily Ever After agency), Patrick Warburton as The Big Bad Wolf, and Glenn Close as Granny. Hayden Panetierre steps in to replace Anne Hathaway as Red Riding Hood, and Martin Short takes over for James Belushi as Kirk the Woodsman. The cast does a serviceable job in their performances, but one of the things that is lacking (and there are many) is a good script (credited to Cory Edwards, Todd Edwards, Tony Leech and director Mike Disa). While Red is off training with the Sister Hoods, Granny and Wolf are hot on the trail to free Hansel and Gretel (Bill Hader and Amy Poehler) who have been kidnapped by Verushka the Witch (Joan Cusack). But it is all a trap to capture Granny so Verushka can get her hands on the Sister Hoods’ chocolate truffle recipe, which can bestow secret powers to whoever eats it. Red is called out of training and re-teamed with Wolf to find Granny before the very obvious happens. Along the way, our heroes stop (as does the film) to learn important life lessons.

 

The animation is a small step better than the original, but that is not saying much. I often had to remind myself that I was watching an animated feature, and not a video game. Although fabrics move with the characters, and quite well when catapulted through the air, fur and hair do not, making the characters appear they were created from a plastic mold. Granny’s bee-hive stays in perfect shape throughout the film, Red’s cape flutters in the wind when she dives off the bridge but every hair on her head stays in place, and the hairs on Wolf and Twitchy’s fur are static and lifeless. Granted, Hoodwinked Too! did not have a budget anywhere in the neighborhood of a feature film from Pixar, Dreamworks, Disney, or even Blue Sky, but Hoodwinked was able to overcome that, to a degree, with a clever screenplay. Which is a shame, since this was written by the same team as the original.

Video: 4 out of 5
3D Implementation: 2.5 out of 5
The MVC-encoded 1080p 24hz 3D is, for the most part, quite solid. I viewed the film on Optoma’s HD33 1080p DLP 3D front projector, which uses active-shutter glasses. Colors were vibrant, and detail was excellent, which accented the flaws in the animation. Compression and banding were virtually non-existent. The 3D was another issue. Hoodwinked Too! was not created in 3D, and was converted from 2D by Rocket Science3D and MG Studios with mixed results. Although there was an illusion of depth throughout most of the film, much of it had what many refer to as the ViewMaster look; flat images with many panes of depth, with everything happening on the screen surface and behind, never extruding out of the screen. I also noticed some minor ghosting and crosstalk on a few occasions, but never lasting more than a few seconds.

Audio: 4 out of 5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track is impressive, with excellent frequency response and dynamic range. Surrounds and LFE are put to good use, and dialogue is mostly centered and intelligible. This is an active track, and Murray Gold’s jazzy score comes alive during many of the action sequences.

Special Features: 2.5 out of 5

The 3D Blu-ray, 2D Blu-ray, and DVD all begin with the same skippable trailers (in 2D 1080p where applicable):

• Spy Kids: All The Time In The World
• Rio (why there is a trailer for a DVD from FOX is beyond me)

There are no special features on the 3D Blu-ray disc. All of the special features are included on the 2D Blu-ray disc (and duplicated on the DVD version, as well) in MPEG-2 standard definition anamorphic widescreen, except where noted.

Music Videos:

• Hayden Panetierre - “I Can Do It Alone” (3:29): The actress sings to the camera from inside a sound booth, interspersed with clips from the film.
• Lavay Cole - “You Know It” (2:57): The artist sings and dances in a library with clips from the movie in this more traditional music video.
• CeeJ - “Perfect Two” (3:08): The artist performs the song in various locations, intercut with clips from the movie.

The Voices:

• Hayden Panetierre as Red (1:48): The actress talks about voicing an animated character and Director Mike Disa praises how her experience on the television series Heroes crossed over to this film.
• Patrick Warburton as Wolf (3:58): Director Mike Disa praises how funny Patrick Warburton is (“He could read the phone book and it would be funny.”) and Warburton describes his character of Wolf.
• Heidi Klum as Heidi (4:16): The model/actress and Director Mike Disa discuss this (minor) character.
• Wayne Newton as Jimmy 10-Strings (5:18): The singer talks enthusiastically about his voice cameo in the film.
• David Ogden Stiers as Nicky Flippers (3:53): The actor talks briefly about reprising his character from the first film.

Storyboard Sequences: Two sequences from the film are shown here in rough pencil form.

• Bridge (3:45)
• HEA Invasion (0:44)

Production Artwork: A series of slides of character poses and conceptual designs are presented in 1080p.

Hoodwinked Too! Video Game Teasers: Commericals for two movie tie-in games for your mobile devices are featured.

• Red’s Escape (0:10)
• Decoder (0:31)

The 3D Blu-ray edition also contains a 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy DVD-Rom, all in a 4-disc keepcase. There are two inserts, one with the access code for the digital copy, and a second including a coupon for Dippin’ Dots (you know, the ice cream of the future) and instructions on how to enter a sweepstakes to win a vacation at Beaches Resorts.

Overall: 2.5 out of 5
An unnecessary sequel that was unnecessarily converted to 3D, plus 2D Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Copy, with ho-hum features, make this a tough sell. If you enjoyed the original Hoodwinked, you may want to give this sequel a rental first, and most likely skip the 3D altogether.

 

[Adam Gregorich]

Thanks Todd. I didn't realize this was a conversion. I have only seen the 2D version with my twins. They really enjoyed it, then again they are 5...

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

The 3D was another issue. Hoodwinked Too! was not created in 3D, and was converted from 2D by Rocket Science3D and MG Studios with mixed results.

Thanks Todd. I didn't realize this was a conversion. I have only seen the 2D version with my twins. They really enjoyed it, then again they are 5...

It's a surprise to me also, that Hoodwinked Too! was converted and not created in 3D. It has been listed on the 2011 "Real 3D" side of the list on the "Is it Real 3D or Fake 3D" site, where I have been going to check for real or converted films since it was created. Paul

 

[Stephen_J_H]

That list isn't terribly accurate. Spy Kids 4, for example, is listed on the fake side, and it was shot in 3D, as was Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

 

[Paul Hillenbrand]

That list isn't terribly accurate. Spy Kids 4, for example, is listed on the fake side, and it was shot in 3D, as was Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

One thing I like about - Phil Dhingra's "Is it Real 3D or Fake 3D?" is the authors statement "PS. If you want to see my notes, go to View > Source in your browser for hidden HTML comments." The comment with Spy Kids 4: "We have been told it will not be shot in 3D." http://screenrant.com/spy-kids-4-all-time-world-details-mikee-85078/" Go to that site and it states: [Update: Spy Kids 4​ will be conversion 3D.]. The comment under "Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil 3D" only states "No mention of conversion anywhere, 3D animated film, very unlikely to be fake" and that is why Todd Erwin's statement is so surprising and pertinent: "was converted from 2D by Rocket Science3D and MG Studios with mixed results." and regarding: "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" notes: "They're releasing it in 3D, and there were discussions before about whether to do that or not, because of cost-of-conversion, so it wasn't filmed natively in 3-D" Paul

 

[Todd Erwin]

From a review of the film in Variety:

Stereoscopic conversion affords little more here than a few dynamic angles and scenic soaring-through-clouds shots.

 

[Todd Erwin]

I asked a long-time friend of mine, Eric Kurland, who is President of the Los Angeles 3D Club and was the 3D consultant on many of OK-Go's music videos (available on the Nintendo 3DS) if Hoodwinked Too! was a 3D conversion.


Here is what he said:

Hi Todd, My understanding is that this is a conversion done by a Korean studio called Stereopictures.

The information in my review, indicating the conversion was completed by Rocket Science3D and MG Studios, came from both the end credits of the film and imdb.com. It is possible that these two firms handled some of the 3D effects, while Stereopictures handled the overall conversion.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Considering the behind the scenes conflict to get this movie out (Hoodwinked Too! was delayed so many times that the tie in Burger King kids meal happened a whole year before the movie was released), its no surprise there isn't much in the way of making of's.